UK Online Casinos

In today’s industry, the United Kingdom is considered to be one of the most important licensing jurisdictions in the world, if not the single most respected of them all. If you aren’t familiar with why that is, then it will come to you as a bit of a shock because all of this is based on changes that they made to their gambling laws in 2014. That hasn’t left long for the industry to adjust to these changes, and in what follows, we’re going to show you why it was such a big deal and why being licensed in the United Kingdom makes a huge difference for an online casino.

The Basics of UK Online Casino Regulation

There are a few key things to know about the regulation of online casinos in the United Kingdom. First, they have one of the strictest set of rules of any regulatory body in the world, and they really hold online casinos accountable for their actions. There have been a number of instances where they have forced sites to pay fines and restitution to players for things like not paying out when they were supposed to, though it’s usually over some kind of disagreement about their terms and conditions that leads to arbitration.

Speaking of arbitration, everyone who plays with a UK-licensed casino site can use the UK Gambling Commission’s arbitration services if they have any types of issues that need to be handled like disagreements with how a casino handled some claim of theirs. This is an extremely important service for players because it avoids situations where the casino won’t pay out, leaving the player helpless.

Finally, there’s their agreement with eCOGRA. eCOGRA is the single most important independent certification body in the world for online gambling. They have a partnership with the United Kingdom Gambling Commission that sees them helping to form policy. This has led to a lot of the bigger things that players are thankful for that are a part of how the UK Gambling Commission handles things like arbitration and keeping sites accountable. It’s also a big part of the reason why the UK is considered to be one of the most important jurisdictions today, in spite of the fact that these changes have been around for a relatively short period of time.

How to Choose a UK Online Casino

We have made a number of recommendations about UK online casinos to pick from, but we want to give you some practical advice on how to pick out a site that will work the best for you.

First and foremost, make sure that they actually have a UK license and don’t just have a UK-themed online casino. All of the sites that we recommend have their license from the UK in good standing. Once you do this, you won’t really have to worry about cash outs coming in late or any other type of shady behavior that you might encounter if you play with sites that aren’t licensed from here.

The second thing is to take note of the games you’re looking to play and to make sure that the casino you’re considering has them. There are fewer things more frustrating than expecting that you’ll be able to play certain games after making a deposit only to find out that they aren’t available. If you like multiple types of casino games, then you have more to look at with regards to game selection, but if there’s one specific genre that you focus on, then it will make this step a little easier.

Finally, you want to look through the promotions and bonuses that the site has available. These are really important to your bottom line because they’re like getting paid for games that you were going to play anyway. That’s why we stress that you read the terms and conditions of the deals so you can find something that will work for your bankroll, playing preferences and the games that you want to enjoy. The casino sites from the UK that we recommend have different types of balanced promotions for you to check out along these lines.

Deposit and Withdrawal Methods

Players from the UK have one of the largest selections of banking methods available anywhere, and that’s the direct result of the regulated market that exists there with every form of online gambling being alive and well. There are three main categories for payment options: credit cards, electronic wallets and other methods.

For the credit card side of things, the main options are MasterCard, Visa, Maestro and Solo. Some sites might not accept Maestro or Solo, but virtually every casino that has a license in the United Kingdom will accept MasterCard and Visa. If you’re planning on depositing with a credit card, make sure that you have a withdrawal method that you can use as well. Many casinos don’t allow you to cash out to a credit card.

The other major group consists of electronic wallets. Skrill and Neteller are the two main choices here, though they are both owned by the same company. You’ll find some sites use options like PayPal as well, but it really just depends on where you’re playing. These e-wallets can be used for both deposits and withdrawals, so you don’t have to worry about situations where you can make deposits but not cash out when you use them.

Finally, we have everything else that gets lumped together. This includes voucher programs like Paysafecard and other means like bank transfers and bank wires. Because there is such a wide range of options available for UK players, many will prefer to stick to the mainstream choices. However, you get to pick what you want to play with, so just make sure that any casino you’re considering has your preferred methods available, and always make sure you have options for both deposits and withdrawals.

Overview

Online casinos that are licensed in the United Kingdom are virtually always going to be an excellent choice. We have made recommendations for UK players based on all of the criteria that we have mentioned above, but it’s up to you to pick out specifically what you’re looking for and to make sure that your personal preferences are reflected in the choice you make from the group of sites we recommend.